WASHINGTON - As part of today’s quarterly earnings report, AT&T unveiled a new three-year plan focused on boosting share prices. The company’s report also revealed additional job cuts, bringing the total cuts at AT&T since the corporate tax cut went into effect in January 2018 to 33,778.

“The plan that AT&T announced today is something only a hedge fund manager could love,” said Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton. “Instead of using its massive profits to increase investment in next generation wireless and fiber broadband networks and train its employees for jobs of the future, AT&T plans to spend $30 billion buying back its own stock to boost share prices. Our union will continue to oppose Paul Singer’s agenda and keep a close eye as AT&T conducts its portfolio review. And we will continue to do what we’ve always done: fight back against corporate greed by standing up to protect good jobs at the bargaining table and, when necessary, on the strike line.”

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AT&T’s plan comes after vulture capital hedge fund Elliott Management took a small stake in the company, aiming to extract profits from AT&T by cutting jobs and selling off critical assets while pumping up the stock price with billions in share buybacks. While AT&T did not fully adopt Elliott’s plans, the company’s commitment to spend up to 70% of its free cash flow on stock buybacks, appoint new directors to its board, and review its portfolio with an eye toward selling off parts of its business puts the concerns of a few wealthy shareholders above serving customers by investing in the network and its employees.

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The Communications Workers of America represents working men and women in telecommunications, customer service, media, airlines, health care, public service and education, and manufacturing.

Further

Prepping for Saturday's protests in D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser went for the grand gesture - and a symbolic middle finger to the racist cowering in the White House - and had "Black Lives Matter" painted in yuge yellow letters on the city's main drag. Bowser's action, aimed at recognizing the thousands in the streets "craving to be heard and to be seen," was criticized by some activists as "performative distraction," but many celebrated it as a vital tribute: "We are saying it loud. We are here."

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